‘Utah Dropped the H,’ Comic Genius From Gary Gulman
I've never met Gary Gulman.
In fact, the 6-foot-6 comedian has been on television dozens of times and I haven't caught him live even once. I feel bad about that, but truthfully I don't watch TV much anymore, so it's not surprising.
But on my Facebook feed today his bit about the meeting to abbreviate the states came across and I clicked on it ... again.
You see, I've probably watched this bit 20 times. Gulman (link to the routine is below).
Gulman is a master of creating a theater of the mind. His comedic genius is that he has a way of making you see the exact scene in your mind's theater.
I could see Dottie. I could see the committee. I could see the omelet bar.
It was all there, thanks to the illustrative imagination of Gary Gulman.
The sheer absurdity of the bit makes it all the better. That there would be a "committee" to undertake the task of abbreviating the states is utterly ridiculous. And yet, I believe it happened thanks to Gulman.
The gum-chewing Dottie smarting off at all times, like a 70s sitcom character was preposterous, but oh-so-on target.
And Gulman doesn't talk down to the audience either, which is a feat considering the original audience was a Conan O'Brian studio crowd.
He uses the ludicrousness of a professional contractor (you know, a guy who combines words to make contractions) that comes in as a consultant.
In fact, the only thing wrong with the whole routine is that it wasn't long enough.
I can't help but wonder if the "rest of the story" is somewhere in Gulman's brain.
Until we find out, here's another short bit from Gulman on Trader Joe's.